How Frames and Trusses are made
There are many videos about how trusses and frames are made but the one that really stands out is called Floor and Roof Trusses — “How it’s Made” by Jordan Smith. Jordan explains beautifully step by step the manufacturing process and the importance of Mitek automation software in the whole process.
Here’s a transcript of the video:
Hi, it’s Jordan Smith. We’re out here in beautiful Huntsville, Alabama at the CBS truss plant where they’re using Mitek automation and software to make a modern day truss. So what is a truss, but truss is an assembly that is made out of two force members that are attached here at the nodes. So what I mean by a two force member is all of these, these web sections and these chords are only in compression intention. So, this is my top chord here. This is my bottom chord running along the bottom there, and then all of this in the middle is web so let’s imagine that we have a force, pressing down at the top here, and we’ve got two walls holding it up at either end.
So the walls are pressing up and our force is pressing down these members here are going to be in compression because I’ve got the wall pushing this way and but my load pushing this way. And it’s offset by this side over here so there’s no twisting or bending moments at these nodes, you can imagine those is just a pin that can move back and forth, we want to keep everything in compression or tension. So these would be in compression, which means my bottom chord here is going to be in tension. So compression tension. This would be in compression. This would be in tension. This would be in compression tension and so forth. So, in 1955, a guy named john Calvin Jureit invented this this is the trust plate. It is a piece of metal that has a bunch of little spikes that are pressed out of it. And then they’re pressed together and rolled over. That is the process that I want to show you inside.
To help tell the story in the easiest way possible. I’m just going to walk you through what a builder goes through and how to get the trusses designed and then I’m going to take it through from what the word goes through and then the builder and the word are going to meet up at the end with the full trusses on a truck and heading out the door. What Mitek allows us to do is for me as a builder to come in and say, here is my two dimensional sketch. I’m able to show them what I want in the plans, and they build that in their 3d software called SAPPHIRE. Now, Sapphire has a ton of different modules, but for me as a builder all I care about is the Sapphire 3d viewer because the designers will draw the whole house based off of my sketch. They’ll also be able to throw in all of the different engineering requirements from code and other factors like wind load in my area. So they design this whole thing in 3d they designed, all of the trusses based off of my roof planes off my wall hide off my floor plan, and then they send it to me and right off my cell phone, I can look at that, I can manipulate it and I can see is this what I’m expecting. If it’s not, I’m able to call my local lumberyard Wilson lumber Here, sit down with the designer and say okay, here, here and here. I would like to make these changes because I just talked to my HVAC guy, and we’re running a HVAC chase through these trusses. Can you open up the web so I can run that through it’s a really great way of customizing and so now, just like I talked to my framer instead of talking directly to my framer about what customization I want. I’m talking to a designer and we’re both able to see it in real time and I’m able to see it out on the out on my job on my cell phone.
Alright so as a builder, I’m happy I’ve handed it off the 3d model is built and I leave to go on to my next job now that 3d model here at the trust plant then goes to a sapphire management software, it doesn’t affect me as a builder but for the trust guys it makes a big difference because now they take that 3d model and they put it in their schedule and they know exactly when it’s going to get out to the floor and when it’s going to be delivered back to me, the builder. So from the management software once it’s scheduled then it hits the floor and all of that information on all of the sticks that it takes to build all of these trusses goes out to the floor and everything is automated so it starts at the saws. My techniques a few different types of saws and make one called the blade and it’s a three axis mitre saw just like making your default sliding saw, but everything is automated on it, and it’s not a operator sitting in there putting in all the angles, it knows the entire truss that is coming down the way and it will cut both to link, and all of your angles in real time, and spit it out the backs off may also make one called cyber which is my favourite. It’s got six hands on it and all six heads are articulating, so it’s cutting both ends of the lumber with up to three angles per in, so that this lumber just comes through and foreskins are ready to go to the trust, and then both of those saws will print on the pieces of material, so that as it comes off the guy stacking it there and is making a bundle for the trust and we have complete material traceability. And because we’re able to use the long pieces for the long trusses and as it gets shorter and shorter. We also have the same type of solid making fortresses, we’re able to utilize, most of the material here, there’s very little waste coming out of this plant.
After it’s been all cut and bundled together, it goes over to the tables. Now, again this is one of the disadvantages of traditional truss making it we set up your table for a single type of truss, and it takes a long time to switch over.
Now with the automated jigging systems called wizard PDS, the pins will move. So, the new truss comes in, they see it on a screen, all of the pins move, and then you’re able to throw the material, down, up against those pins that are your new jig you tap the plates on it with a hammer and then you have a roller that rolls over the top, doing a two step process you have the main roller that rolls over the top. That sets, all of the plates, and then it gets kicked off onto a conveyor roller that rolls it through a finishing roller, and then it comes out to the yard. That is a really cool process that is cutting down the time of making trusses, they’re able to get 9000 board feet off of their automated table where the best they could do with a manual table with their best crew was 5014 so they were able to double their production. This means two things for me the builder. Number one, it gets more economical to build, especially roof in Florida structures, much more economical than hand cut frames. The second thing that it does is it allows me to customize very easily, because these pins are moving individually. It’s as fast for me to do one, truss, as it is to do a 100 trusses. So if I’m a custom home builder, and I’m wanting to make you know one home, all with trusses for the roof and four sections. I can do that easily, and it doesn’t cost me any more money, and it doesn’t cause CBS any more setup times because everything is automated. It’s a really cool system and it’s changing the ways that we’re building trusses. And finally, all of those trusses are stacked together bundled together, they hit a truck, and they all go out to the job sites together so what would take days or maybe weeks of framing on site has now been reduced to, you know, a day of flying these trusses in.
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